chamois
[ sham-ee; French sha-mwah ]
/ ˈʃæm i; French ʃaˈmwɑ /
noun, plural cham·ois, cham·oix [sham-eez; French sha-mwah] /ˈʃæm iz; French ʃaˈmwɑ/.
verb (used with object), cham·oised [sham-eed] /ˈʃæm id/, cham·ois·ing [sham-ee-ing] /ˈʃæm i ɪŋ/.
to dress (a pelt) with oil in order to produce a chamois.
to rub or buff with a chamois.
Nearby words
- chaminade,
- chaminade, cécile louise stéphanie,
- chamiso,
- chamiza,
- chammy,
- chamoising,
- chamoix,
- chamomile,
- chamonix,
- chamorro
Origin of chamois
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for chamois
chamois
/ (ˈʃæmɪ, French ʃamwa) /
noun plural -ois
(ˈʃæmwɑː) a sure-footed goat antelope, Rupicapra rupicapra, inhabiting mountains of Europe and SW Asia, having vertical horns with backward-pointing tips
a soft suede leather formerly made from the hide of this animal, now obtained from the skins of sheep and goats
Also called: chamois leather, shammy, shammy leather, chammy, chammy leather (ˈʃæmɪ) a piece of such leather or similar material used for polishing, etc
(ˈʃæmwɑː)
- a yellow to greyish-yellow colour
- (as modifier)a chamois stamp
verb (tr)
to dress (leather or skin) like chamois
to polish with a chamois
Word Origin for chamois
C16: from Old French, from Late Latin camox of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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chamois
1550s, "Alpine antelope;" 1570s, "soft leather," originally "skin of the chamois," from Middle French chamois "Alpine antelope" (14c.), from Late Latin camox (genitive camocis), perhaps from a pre-Latin Alpine language that also produced Italian camoscio, Spanish camuza, Old High German gamiza, German Gemse (though some of these might be from Latin camox). As a verb, "to polish with chamois," from 1934.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper